Evil Always Finds a Way
by Lord Shadowstorm
Summary: For a thousand years Equestria was peaceful and happy, ruled by good and harmony... No more. The time has come for them to be reminded of the true meaning of Evil. The time has come for the Overlord to awaken. Because Evil always finds a way... A League of Humans Acting Villainous story originally posted on Fimfiction.
1. Because Evil Always Finds a Way

"Alright class. Settle down." The teacher called out. It took them about a minute, but the colts and fillies of this class of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns finally quieted down and diverted their attention to Brass Compass, the Earth Pony mare that taught them Geography. "Thank you. Now, last week we finished with the final subject on Equestrian Geography. From this week on we will learn about the various other kingdoms that surround our beautiful land." The old mare's blue eyes looked over the class from behind the thick lenses of her glasses.

While she was an old earth pony who looked kind at first glance, she was known to be strict and fair, awarding those that deserved it and punishing those that bullied their fellow students. Normally earth ponies and pegasi would be intimidated by so many unicorns… But Brass Compass wasn't easily intimidated. Some of her co-workers joked that her name originally was Brass Balls, but she changed it for decency's sake. Of course, nopony said anything like that in the brass-colored mare's rather impressive hearing range, or else they were treated to a harsh look and scolding that would make even Celestia nervous.

"Now…" She continued. "Which one of you can tell me what other countries do you know?" Several hooves shot up at that, bringing a smile on the old teacher's face. "Why don't you begin, Silver Amulet?" She asked a white colt in the first row before ducking under her desk to pull out a map of Equestria and the surrounding lands.

"The Griffins to the East.." The unicorn said. Brass nodded, attaching the map over the blackboard.

"That's right. The Griffin Principalities lie to the East of Equestria, across the Great Ocean. Their position is one of the main reasons why there aren't many around." She indicated the right edge of the map where the blue of the ocean was cut by the map's border. "Very good, Silver. Anypony else?" The teacher looked over the raised hoofs before selecting the next student. "Yes, Radiant Shine?"

"The Zebrican and Buffalo tribes." The yellow filly answered.

"Good. Can you tell me where they are in relation to Equestria?" The filly looked over the map, whispering the four cardinal directions under his breath before he pointed to the bottom of the map.

"To the South." She finally said, earning herself a nod and smile from Brass.

"That's right. The Zebrican tribes are to the south-west, living in the savannas beyond the San Palomino desert. The Buffalo tribes live directly to the south, mostly occupying the Macintosh Hills, where new Equestrian settlements are beginning to grow." Brass didn't bother to hide her smile. She was proud that her students knew that much about the world outside Equestria. She couldn't believe how many ponies were ignorant of it… The old mare had traveled far and wide and had experienced the geography and culture of several countries outside Equestria. It was this that landed her a teaching position in the best unicorn school in the world.

By now most of the hooves were down. The Griffins, the Zebras and the Buffalo were the most well-known non-Equestrian species, and with them eliminated most students had no idea who was left.

"Yes, Harmonic Rhythm?" She asked a blue filly.

"The Pinguin Republic to the North." She replied.

"Very good." Brass said, the filly smiling widely at the praise. "Very good indeed. Now who's next?" She looked over the two ponies that still had their hooves in the air. "Swift Tale?"

"The Dragon lands to the… Umm…" The gray filly frowned, muttering the cardinal points under her breath before she continued: "The south-east?"

"Excellent." Brass smiled and turned towards the map. "Now that you know the lands around Equestria we will begin with…" She couldn't finish as a voice interrupted her:

"But miss Compass, there is another one." Brass Compass froze before turning to look at the colt.

"Moonlit Glade." She scowled at the dark purple pony. "You know that I don't tolerate being interrupted. As you know, it is very rude." She continued glaring at the colt for a few more seconds before turning back to the map. "Now, as I was saying…"

"But miss Compass… What about the Overlord's Empire?" The rest of the class looked at the colt confused, some of them snickering at what they thought was something out of a fairy tale. But Brass Compass stiffened at her words. The Empire was a place shrouded in mystery and legends… A place that was rumored to be as vile and bad as Equestria was pure and good… It was a public taboo that nearly everypony knew of… Yet nopony spoke of it outside the safety of their homes. Most ponies thought that it was a fairytale, something to scare the children with and make them behave. But some knew the truth…

"It would be wise if you do not speak of the Empire again, mister Glade." Brass said in even tone as she turned around. Her face was expressionless as she looked over her class.

"Isn't the Overlord just a fairy tale meant to scare us to go to bed early?" A filly asked confused. Brass just shook her head.

"That is true. The Empire is supposed to be ancient, older than any other nation on Equis apart from Equestria." Brass Compass walked over to the map and circled a small area to the South of Equestria. "This is known as the Badlands. A place of desolation… A place where predators roam the lifeless ground, seeking for prey… A place where nopony dares to tread… No sane pony, at least." She let out a soft chuckle at that. Many people called her insane for even thinking of going there, yet alone doing it… But she did. "The Overlord's Empire is supposed to exist somewhere around here. But there is nothing there. Trust me, I have been there. I have explored the Badlands for a month, and I didn't find any Empire there." She stayed silent for a few seconds, wondering how to continue. The topic had been effectively steered to the Overlord's Empire now, and she couldn't just stop here, or the students would begin gossiping and looking for trouble...

"You probably know the tale of the Overlord, how he and his minions tried to enslave all creatures on Equis, only to be imprisoned by our beloved ruler, Princess Celestia herself." She walked back to her desk and sat down, letting out a sigh.

"The legends say that the Overlord is still alive, even after all these years. That he is waiting for his beloved to return so that he can conquer the world in her name… Of course, that is impossible. Only the Princess can live for that long. So I am sorry, Moonlit Glade, but your answer isn't valid." The colt visibly deflated while his peers began to chuckle…

* * *

Equestria… The land of ponies... A land of sunshine and rainbows, of magic and harmony… Their kind and benevolent ruler, Princess Celestia, rules from her castle in Canterlot, in the very heart of the country. The majestic castle provides view to many of the land's wonders, from the beautiful mountains of the Frozen North and the majestic city of Cloudsdale to the idyllic Ponyville and the wild Everfree forest. And, if you used a powerful telescope, you could see so much more… You could see past Unicorn Range all the way to Yanhoover to the West. You could see the beautiful snow plains to the North where the Crystal Empire used to be. You could even see parts of Las Pegasus to the south-east and the beginning of the city of Appleloosa directly to the south.

And if you looked just a bit more to the East from there you would see the Badlands… A lifeless wasteland where predators roamed free and only the strong survived… There was no intelligent life… Not on the surface, at least.

But deep down below, hidden from the eyes of any mortal was a cavern… Though to call it cavern was like calling Canterlot Mountain a hill… Both were gross underestimations. It was enormous… An enormous lake of lava bubbled on the bottom, flowing towards the depths of the planet.

The place's inhabitants called it the Netherworld. It was fitting...

Hanging from the ceiling of the cavern was an enormous structure carved into a similarly enormous stalactite. A tower, hanging upside-down as if to mock what a tower normally was described as…

In the lowest level of the tower there was a chamber. Once lavishly decorated, now the tapestries were all but piles of dust, the once expensive paintings faded or gone, the carved stone eroded, the channels that once led lava over the room, providing illumination and intimidation value were now filled with cold rock…

A throne stood on a raised dais, its spikes crumbling with age. On that throne sat a figure… He was clad in dark and spiked armor, with a red cloak behind him and a large sword over its knees. To an observer it would appear that he had no face, just a dark void under the spiked helmet.

This was the Overlord… The ruler of the Netherworld, and of what was now known as the Badlands… Here he lay in magic-induced slumber, waiting for a call…

Above ground events happened. A certain dark Alicorn's prison was weakening… Already her dark magic could be felt by those who knew what to look for… But there were only two beings who could feel it. One was Celestia, the Sun Alicorn. With a smile she enacted a plan centuries in the making, preparing to send her best student to a small town where she would forge a bond of friendship that would in turn unlock the true potential of the ultimate weapon that Equestria possessed…

It didn't take long for Nightmare Moon's magic to reach the Netherworld. A carefully crafted ward was broken...

Outside, the entire Netherworld Tower shook visibly. Loose stones fell down, splashing in the sea of lava below. The bottom of the Tower opened, like the claw of a predator. Floating between the sharp spikes was the Tower Heart, a magical orb of great power and great potential.

At first the Heart was dull, lifeless… Then a spark ran over the smooth surface. The orb began to glow with otherworldly power, mystical energies reawakening after more than a thousand years of slumber. Then, a thick beam of magic shot down into the sea of lava.

The entire cavern shook as a whirlpool formed where the beam impacted the molten rock. No, it wasn't the cavern… More than that shook. The tremors were felt throughout Equis, sending the inhabitants into panic.

The weather, leashed by the ponies, twisted under the onslaught of magic. Harsh winds blew pegasi around… Storm clouds gathered, sending bright flashes of lightning over the panicking masses… Animals of all kinds were frightened, trying to escape their confines and run away or hide…

And in the throne room the Overlord's eyes snapped open, a pair of glowing lights in the darkness of his helmet.

The Overlord had awaken.

Soon, Evil will once more walk upon Equestria…

Because Evil always finds a way...


	2. Evil Awakens

Princess Celestia looked up at the moon and scowled, something quite unusual for the motherly ruler. Several hours had passed since the strange earthquake and the following storm washed over Equestria, sending the citizens into panic. The Royal Guard had their hooves full trying to restore order… The Princess herself had to visit several cities to calm the masses, reaching the point where she had to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, something she hadn't done in centuries.

"Is the shattering of your bonds this violent, sister?" She asked. "Or is it just you lashing out in anger from your imprisonment?" The Mare in the Moon didn't reply, but for some reason Celestia felt that she was smirking at her… With a huff the solar Alicorn turned around and walked back in her room. She had too much work to do to waste time in seeking answers to questions such as this. She needed to allocate funds to repair the damage that the earthquake and storms caused, she needed to finish planning for the Summer Sun Celebration and she needed to steer her pupil in the right direction to unite the Elements of Harmony…

Sometimes being a Princess was tedious… She could only hope that her plan would work and that Luna will be back soon, cleansed from the corruption that wretched creature inflicted upon her… That thought made her pause. What if… No, she shook her head. It wasn't possible. The Overlord was gone. There was no way the evil creature still lived. Only Alicorns and Dragons could live for thousands of years, after all. And there was no chance of a successor popping up, he had stated that he was the only one of his kind on all Equis.

No, the only evil coming is Nightmare Moon. And that would be easily dealt with.

Oh, if only Celestia knew how wrong she was…

* * *

Deep into the Netherworld the Overlord stood from his throne. The echo of his armored boots impacting the stone of the Tower carried far and wide throughout the dark and deserted halls as he ascended up to the Minion Burrows. The time had taken its toll on the ancient structure… Several times he had to leap over holes in the stone that lead to the lower levels of the Tower, or even straight to the sea of lava below. It wasn't rare that he had to go back and seek a new route when a hole was too wide for him to safely jump across…

While the Overlord had no idea of the exact number of years he had been slumbering, he knew it was too long… The Tower was sturdy enough to last for centuries without maintenance, so the state of disrepair showed that it was much longer than intended...

Finally he reached his destination. A sigh of relief left his hidden lips as he saw the chamber more or less intact… It would've been a disaster to lose any of the four Hives. Still, the Overlord walked through the room, inspecting each Hive for damage. Again he felt relief when he found nothing wrong. The spell that he had cast on himself had taken hold over the Hives as well, ensuring that they were free from Time's effects.

Making his way back to the first Hive, the Brown one, he stopped in front of it. The thing looked repulsive, like coiled intestines… But to the Overlord it was a familiar, welcome sight.

"The time has come for you to awaken, my most faithful Minions!" The Overlord bellowed in a deep voice that echoed throughout the cavern. The four Hives began to glow with their respective lights as the mystic magic inside them began to stir. "The time has come for you to crush my enemies under your numbers!" He raised his left hand, the jewel on the back of the spiked gauntlet shining brightly. "The time has come to remind this world of our presence!" His hand clenched in a fist as the light from the jewel shone brightly. The four Hives shone in response, blinding the Overlord for a moment.

His vision returned just in time for him to see the first Brown Minion emerge, yawning groggily and looking around. Finally its eyes settled on the Overlord and his mouth hung open.

"Mas-" It began before a kick from the inside of the Hive sent it in the air and to the ground. More Browns began to pour from the Hive, their shouts of "Master!" echoing throughout the cavern. But they weren't the only ones… Reds, Greens and Blues poured from their respective hives, kicking, elbowing, stabbing, setting each other on fire or phasing through their fellow Minions as they raced to gather in front of their Master. The Overlord himself watched them impassively, even if he was amused inside… The small things' antics amused him greatly most of the time. And when they didn't he could always kick one or two around…

"Enough, enough!" A voice coming from the Brown Hive drew the Overlord's attention. An ancient-looking Brown Minion was trying to crawl from a hole on top of the Hive.

"Uuuurgh!" The Minion tried to pull himself up, but wasn't very successful. "Drat… I'm stuck… Little help here?" He asked, drawing an amused chuckle from the Overlord.

"You and you." He pointed at two random Browns. "Pull him out. And do not damage the Hive." The two Minions complied enthusiastically… Too enthusiastically, if the way they jumped on top of the Hive and began to pull on the unfortunate Minion, grabbing anything they could reach - his ears, his hair, even his nose.

"Agh! Get away, get away from me! Agh! Keep your paws from the earrings! I looted them myself, you kno- ahg!" The old Minion tried to bat them away as the Overlord watched in amusement. It served the old coot right… Gnarl was useful as an adviser and Minion Master, but sometimes he was rather annoying in his comments. After waiting a minute for the two thugs to prove once again that Intelligent was an adjective that never applied to the Minions he waved his left hand, the link that connected him to the Minions compelling the two to stop and turn their attention to him.

"Enter the Hive and push him from inside." The two immediately complied, entering the Hive through another hole.

"Master, no! I'm fra-" Gnarl began before he was launched off the Hive and into a cluster of Minions. That, of course, resulted into a tangle of limbs, colors, insults, swears and Gnarl's protests as the Minions tried to untangle themselves. It didn't take long for one of them to hit another, which resulted in a short brawl that the Overlord didn't bother to stop. He was too busy enjoying the screams of the stabbed and burning creatures, of the thunks as a club connected with a head or the sounds of flesh being sliced open… And over that Gnarl's shouts of "Someone free me! Agh! Plesh! You stink!" from under the corpse of a Green.

In several short minutes the brawl ended, with its victor, a singed Brown, standing on top of several corpses, grinning in that demented way that only its kind could. The Overlord shook his head and approached the happy Minion before delivering a swift kick to its torso, sending it flying. A shout of "Weeee…." was heard before it impacted the wall with a crunch and slumped. The Overlord nodded to himself before walking to the pile of corpses. Using his foot he kicked them apart until he uncovered the slightly-green Gnarl.

"Ah… Thank you, Sire." The Minion sighed in relief as he crawled out. "Was that really necessary? You know that I am not as springy as in my youth…"

"It amused me." Was the Overlord's laconic reply as he waved at a group of Blues to begin resurrecting the dead Minions.

"Of course it did…" Gnarl grumbled as he looked around, his yellow eyes taking in the chamber's disrepair. "Milord, how long have we been asleep?"

"Too long, Gnarl." The Overlord replied. "The Tower has fallen into disrepair. Whole sections of it are missing. A couple more centuries and the whole thing would have collapsed into the depths of Equis."

"In that case I shall whip the Browns to begin repairs immediately, Sire." Gnarl said and put his fingers in his mouth, letting out a sharp whistle that gained the attention of all Minions as if the Overlord himself used his Gauntlet.

"Alright fleabags, time to get to work. We need to get the Tower up and running so that we can spread chaos and mayhem in the lands above!" Cheers met the wizened Minion's call as the others scattered around. It was ridiculously easy to motivate the creatures… Just promise them fights and bloodshed and they were ready to do anything…

"I want the path to the Forge to be cleared as soon as possible and a Forgemaster appointed." The Overlord began to give out orders. "Get the Netherstone lifts operational as well. Dookie!" He motioned at a Brown who was scratching his back with a pickaxe. "I want you and the other Diggers to begin tunneling to the Surface as soon as possible." The Brown nodded, running away to complete the order.

"Gnarl, send several squads of Greens to scout out the lands. I want to know the current date, as well as events that happened in our slumber. Try to loot a library… If you can explain to them what that is." Gnarl groaned at the prospect of trying to explain anything to the dumb Minions and hobbled away.

Nodding in satisfaction the Overlord began the trek back to the Throne Room. He would wait there until he got news of the outside world. Then he would plan to recover his Mistress. And then...

And then Evil will reign once more...


End file.
